The Arms Race
The arms race was a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to see who could have a more numerous and more advanced nuclear arsenal. This started during WWII when the United States developed the atomic bomb through their program Trinity. They dropped two of these devastating explosives, one on Nagasaki, and the other on Hiroshima. The Soviet Union didn't want to be behind the US in any aspect, so they started developing an atomic bomb of their own. They tested their first atomic bomb on August 29, 1949. These events laid the groundwork for the arms race, in which one of the main goals was the development of the hydrogen bomb. This massive bomb was finally developed by the US in 1952. Unlike the fission-powered atomic bomb, the hydrogen bomb uses fusion, which has the ability to create an explosion of over 1,000 times that of the atomic bomb.
The next big advancement in nuclear weapons was the ICBM, or Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. They are missiles used to carry and launch warheads to wherever the launcher decides. The Soviet Union was the first country to test these missiles, and they did so on August 21, 1957. The first ICBM that the US developed was the Atlas missile. It was developed in 1957, although after the Soviet Union developed theirs. The next upgrade in the ICBMs was the Minutemen Missile. It had the ability to strike multiple targets with incredible accuracy. There was three different stages of the minuteman, leading to Minutemen III, which is the currently used Minutemen Missile.
The next big advancement in nuclear weapons was the ICBM, or Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. They are missiles used to carry and launch warheads to wherever the launcher decides. The Soviet Union was the first country to test these missiles, and they did so on August 21, 1957. The first ICBM that the US developed was the Atlas missile. It was developed in 1957, although after the Soviet Union developed theirs. The next upgrade in the ICBMs was the Minutemen Missile. It had the ability to strike multiple targets with incredible accuracy. There was three different stages of the minuteman, leading to Minutemen III, which is the currently used Minutemen Missile.